1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to control mechanisms for walk-behind mowers and more specifically relates to double actuating control mechanisms for such mowers to comply with federal safety standards.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous safety standards have recently been federally enacted for the protection and safety of operators using walk-behind mowers. The primary purposes behind these regulations are to prevent the engine of the lawn mower from operating if the user of the mower is not in a proper operator's position to prevent rocks and other debris from being thrown by the mower against the operator's body, and to make it difficult, if not impossible, for the operator to come in contact with the cutting blades of the mower while they are in motion.
To achieve the above purposes in connection with power driven walk-behind mowers, federal regulations require separate means for actuating the engine kill/restart control and the wheel clutch. To meet these requirements, a control system that has been used almost industry-wide was developed. This control system utilizes a single-control bale associated with the handle bar of a mower and a trigger mechanism releasable by the bale. In operation, the control system is designed so that when the bale is in a forward (neutral) position with respect to the end of the mower handle bar, the engine kill/restart control and wheel clutch are disengaged. Upon movement of the bale to its rearwardly most position, the engine restart is engaged to permit the engine to be started. Once the engine is started, the trigger mechanism is then manually cocked by the user to engage the drive clutch and the mower is then in normal operation. Disengagement of the engine kill/restart and drive clutch occur as the bale is returned to its neutral position. However, disengagement of both does not occur simultaneously. Instead, as the bale is partially returned to the neutral position, first the drive clutch is disengaged to stop the self-propelled action of the mower. As the bale reaches its neutral position, the engine is then killed by release of the engine kill/restart. In this way, it is possible for a user to stop the self-propelled action of the mower without killing the engine in instances when it is necessary to turn the mower around or prevent it from hitting objects, etc.
Although the above type of control system is used almost industry-wide, it has a major deficiency making it difficult to properly control the mower because it is difficult for a user to discern the proper forward movement of the control bale to disengage the self-propelled drive but yet not turn the mower off. Thus, users must pay careful attention to the degree of bale travel while they are using a mower with such a control mechanism.
The present invention provides an improved mower control assembly with independently actuated bale members for separately controlling engagement of the engine kill/restart and engagement of the drive clutch.